Vancouver Island Health Authority Begins Issuing Warnings for Edibles

On March 14, the Vancouver Island Health Authority (VIHA) conducted an inspection at a Victoria cannabis dispensary in response to a telephone complaint filed with the regulator.

Based on the complaint and inspection, VIHA says they have issued an order to that dispensary to no longer sell edibles. If marijuana edibles are observed in the facility during future visits, says a letter, issued by VIHA “enforcement actions such as the issuance of violation tickets and or other enforcement actions will be considered.”

Shannon Marshall, the communications director for VIHA, said the health agency will soon be issuing similar warnings to other dispensaries selling edibles in their jurisdiction.

“A member of the public went into a marijuana dispensary and they had made a complaint to us about the sanitation of the dispensary and the fact they are selling edible food products there.

“They called our environmental health officers and based on that complaint, they did an inspection and they issued an order for that dispensary to no longer sell those food products, because in accordance with the public health act and the food premises regulation—and that’s a federal statute—all food ingredients have to come from an approved source, and there’s no approved source for marijuana edibles at this time.